Breath of Fresh Air: UNSC Informal Talks in Backakra, Sweden Show Promising Signs
Actually, the commotion around the OPCW isn't such a big thing. The main global strategic question is the following: 25 years ago, America assumed it was the last remaining superpower. It's obvious now that they failed to preserve the status. More countries are losing their faith in the US. This week, a tiny country of Uruguay turned down Washington's request to expel Russian diplomats. And even Turkey — the NATO-member — withdrew its gold reserve from the US. Americans should stop and think what went wrong. And other superpowers could help them. Yes, there are other superpowers. Some returned from the dead, others just got buff. However, it's the US that's constantly flexing at the UN Security Council meetings Shall we gather somewhere else? Today, we did. The ambassadors of the Security Council member states were invited by neutral Sweden. This morning, we received the footage of diplomats going on a tour wearing hard hats. What tour? The informal negotiations were held in Backåkra, Sweden.
Asya Yemelyanova has the details.
An odd place, even for an informal meeting. A modest one-story cottage in an open Swedish field. Cold wind and the Baltic Sea a stone's throw away. But still, the Swedes came up with a bright idea. Fresh air might help see certain events at a different angle. That's why it's called informal. There's no live broadcast at such meetings so the diplomats are free to say what they really think. They can untie their ties and breath freely. The group photo shows that everybody's relaxed and cheerful as if it was a school field trip.
Only Nikki Haley is uncomfortable. Her heels get stuck in the loose soil. The US Ambassador didn't dare to be 5-cm smaller for a single day. Her speech regarding Syria will probably be in the same vein even if everyone already understands that the attack in Douma was fake and that the experts finally managed to begin their mission in Syria.
Vasily Nebenzya, Russian Ambassador to UN: "We've just had lunch with the Swedish Prime Minister and the Secretary-General. We were talking about how important it is to build trust in the Security Council and curb the damage inflicted on Syria by the reckless actions of some of our partners they are well-known. We must recuperate after suffering that blow. The wound is too fresh to discuss the issue again".
The guests of the unofficial meeting didn't only take group photos and group selfies at the ESS construction site — a pan-European center with the most powerful neutron source in the world. The 600-meter accelerator will be operational in a year. Any material can be studied by splitting it. Journalists and diplomats were joking that the UN needs to consider the same approach. Because the list of challenges hasn't changed in years. As well as methods: isolation and intimidation without adopting any resolution.
Even the US Ambassador Nikki Haley doesn't deny this.
Nikki Haley: "The UN Security Council managed to find common ground and impose sanctions against North Korea and isolate them. Now, we see that they're ready to cooperate. If we look at the situation in Syria we weren't as successful there, it's still a dead end. That's why we need such meetings. We can actually find a solution meeting outside New York".
The British Ambassador Karen Pierce is asked about Salisbury as much as Haley about Syria: Russia's frequently pointed out the similarities of these two chemical attacks. But when our Foreign Ministry declared that it wouldn't accept the results of the investigation if our experts had no access to the Skripal case Britain says that they'll be investigating the case together with Russia. But the meeting is informal so everything might change when everybody's back in New York.
Karen Pierce, British Ambassador to UN: "We're determined to find an effective solution and will continue doing that with our Russian partners".
The second day of the informal meeting will be devoted to Syria the Douma incident, and the OPCW mission. There won't be any cameras inside and that's good news. It means the members of the Security Council will say what they think.
Asya Yemelyanova, Ivan Malyshev Vesti-Saturday News, Sweden.